11 The Deep Seabed

10.1163/9789004203563_012

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Chapter Summary

This chapter primarily concerns the international legal regime for the mineral resources of the seabed and subsoil beyond the limits of national jurisdiction. It traces early developments and then outlines the complex provisions of Part XI of the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (LOS Convention) governing deep seabed mineral resources. Those provisions involve roles for international institutions: the International Seabed Authority and the Seabed Disputes Chamber of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea. A 1994 Part XI Implementation Agreement modified or set aside some controversial seabed mining provisions of the LOS Convention. This 1994 Agreement paved the way for widespread acceptance of the Convention by both developed and developing states, and set out rules for the current regime governing deep seabed mining. Finally, the chapter examines the work of the International Seabed Authority.